cies are moved from beneath. Satan
will not only appear as a human being,
but he will personate Jesus Christ; and
the world who has rejected the truth
will receive him as the Lord of lords
and King of kings. He will exercise his
power, and work upon the human imagi-
nation. He will corrupt both the minds
and the bodies of men, and will work
through the children of disobedience,
fascinating and charming, as does a
serpent. What a spectacle will the world
be for heavenly intelligences! What a
spectacle for God, the Creator of the
world, to behold! The form Satan as-
sumed in Eden when leading our first
parents to transgress, was of a char-
acter to bewilder and confuse the mind.
He will work in as subtle a manner as
we near the end of earth's history. All
his deceiving power will be brought to
bear upon human subjects, to complete
the work of deluding the human family.
So deceptive will be his working, that
men will do as they did in the days of
Christ; and when asked, Whom shall I
release unto you, Christ or Barabbas?
the almost universal cry will be, Barab-
bas, Barabbas! And when the question
is asked, "What will ye then that I shall
do unto him whom ye call the King of
the Jews?" the cry again will be, "Cru-
cify him!" Christ will be represented in
the person of those who accept the
truth, and who identify their interest with
that of their Lord. The world will be en-
raged at them in the same way that they
were enraged at Christ, and the disci-
ples of Christ will know that they are to
be treated no better than was their Lord.
But Christ will surely identify his inter-
est with that of those who accept him as
their personal Saviour. Every insult, ev-
ery reproach, every false accusation
made against them by those who have
turned their ears away from the truth
and are turned unto fables, will be
charged upon the guilty ones as done
to Christ in the person of his saints.
Those who love and keep the com-
mandments of God are most obnoxious
to the synagogue of Satan, and the pow-
ers of evil will manifest their hatred
112
toward them to the fullest extent pos-
sible. John foresaw the conflict between
the remnant church and the power of
evil, and said, "The dragon was wroth
with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which
keep the commandments of God, and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
The forces of darkness will unite with
human agents who have given them-
selves into the control of Satan, and the
same scenes that were exhibited at the
trial, rejection, and crucifixion of Christ
will be revived. Through yielding to sa-
tanic influences, men will be trans-
formed into fiends; and those who were
created in the image of God, who were
formed to honor and glorify their Crea-
tor, will become the habitation of drag-
ons, and Satan will see in an apostate
race his masterpiece of evil,—men who
reflect his own image.
Men were imbued with a satanic spirit
at the time when they decided that they
would have Barabbas, a thief and mur-
derer, in preference to the Son of God.
The demoniac power triumphed over
humanity; legions of evil angels took
entire control of men, and in answer to
Pilate's question as to whom he should
release unto them, they shrieked out,
"Away with this man, and release unto
us Barabbas." When Pilate spoke again
to them concerning Jesus, the hoarse
cry was raised, "Crucify him, crucify
him." Through yielding to demoniac
agencies, men were led to take their
stand on the side of the great apostate.
Unfallen worlds looked upon the scene
with amazement, unable to comprehend
the degradation that sin had wrought.
Legions of evil angels controlled the
priests and rulers, and gave voice to
the suggestions of Satan in persuading
and tempting the people by falsehoods
and bribes to reject the Son of God, and
to choose a robber and murderer in his
stead. They appealed to the very worst
passions of the unregenerate heart, and
stirred up the worst elements of human
nature by the most unjust accusations
and representations. What a scene was
this for God to look upon, for seraphim